ASRock Fatal1ty X99X Killer Motherboard Review

[section_title title=”Conclusion”]Conclusion

Jumping right into the performance and it quickly became apparent that the X99X Killer is definitely a gaming board. The Reason I say this is comparing the benchmarks results the X99X Killer seems to do better in gaming environments, especially when overclocked. While the overall performance is good, it was not quite what I was hoping for. However, X99 is still a relatively new platform so maybe with a BIOS update or two things will smooth out a bit as the performance is there, just sometimes it doesn’t want to be harnessed. All-in-all performance wise it is on-par with others, just needs to try and make better use of the CPU.

When it comes down to design and this is always more a user preference than anything for the most part. When I consider design I look at it from two separate aspects, firstly – is it aesthetically pleasing? Second, are all the ports and headers in a spot where they will function as expected and be accessible? Well starting with the later, the X99X Killer is very aesthetically pleasing if red is your thing, me I can’t stand red but it is still hard to deny the looks the board has to offer.

When it comes down to the component design of the board it is spot on everything seemed to be in the right place. From time to time some manufacturers like to try their luck with moving things such as the front panel connectors which is not the best of ideas in my opinion. ASRock have done a good job at keeping everything where we would expect it to be and adding any additions to the board around those which is great to see.

The part I like the least when it comes to reviewing is the ‘Value’ issue. Does the Fatal1ty X99X Killer offer good value for the money? Well to answer that it all depends what you are after really. Currently when it comes to performance you can get similar performance for a bit cheaper but then on the same hand you will forfeit some of the extra options and benefits that the X99X Killer has to offer. Things like the vertical USB 2.0 port, dedicated 4-pin molex power for the PCIe lanes, HDD Saver, ASRock Cloud and the Dehumidifier option all add to the value for money but you will need to decide for yourself if those options are worth the extra bit on the price tag.

When everything is said and done the ASRock X99X Killer is a solid competitor for the X99 chipset when considering all aspects of the board. It is easy to install and get using, the performance is on-par with similar boards and it does offer some added benefits in hardware and software over other boards. The extra bit of performance that seems to come out of the board when applying an overclock in gaming is also worthy of being mentioned and plays well on the fact this board is geared at gamers.

I would like to thank ASRock for sending the Fatal1ty X99X Killer in for review and look forward to see what they come out with in the future!